Tennessee plans to start offering signing bonuses to new prison guards, but the top Republican in the state Senate says that might not be enough to solve the state’s staffing problems.
The state Department of Correction announced Thursday that it will start awarding new correctional officers and nurses $600 when they start. The offer is meant to make prison work more enticing, say state officials.
“Corrections is a very difficult job in any situation,” Gov. Bill Haslam said. “When the economy improves, like a lot of difficult jobs, it’s hard to fill those.”
The bonuses come in response to statewide guard shortages at government-run prisons. Haslam denies that situation was caused by new work rules that had the effect of cutting overtime pay.
He also disputes reports that there’s been an increase in prison violence. He says that, overall, violence is down, and the prisons where there’s been more violence aren’t necessarily the same ones that don’t have enough guards.
But Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey isn’t buying it. He says he’s heard from too many guards in his Northeast Tennessee district that there are deeper problems.
“I’ve talked about this to the governor, that when there’s this much smoke, there’s usually fire somewhere,” he said. “So I do think there’s some problems within the Department of Correction that need to be addressed.”
Ramsey says he’s also worried the department has been reclassifying assaults as other incidents in an effort to downplay prison violence. He’s hoping officials will provide explanations at a Senate hearing later this month.
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